James Cleverly indicated that he does not mind Foreign Office employees working from home during the Sudan crisis “as long as they’re working.”
When asked if it was unreasonable to expect civil servants to be in the office, especially during a crisis, Mr. Cleverly stated on Times Radio, “My organization works remotely, and always has… they are working hard, every minute of the day, in time zones all over the world. It’s our specialty.”
The Foreign Secretary said, “As long as they’re working, that’s what I’m focused on.” We’ve used tech… “I don’t mind if someone works hard, late, and long hours from the crisis response center in the bowels of our Westminster office or from a satellite phone in the desert.”
During Sudan conflict, Foreign Secretary protects home-based civil servants
The government has advocated for the return of civil servants to Whitehall in the years following the coronavirus pandemic.
As a minister in the Cabinet Office last year, Jacob Rees-Mogg conducted a highly publicized campaign to get civil servants back to work.
As prime minister, Boris Johnson pledged to take “whatever measures are necessary” to prevent delays in public services and criticized the “post-Covid manana culture.”